Rocky Balboa
For the return of Stalloneâs most iconic character to the big screen, admittedly I had high hopes. However, that began to fade early on when the viewer (and Paulie) are dragged along on the so-called âAdrian Tourâ, with Rocky visiting various locations from the first film while reminiscing about his late, beloved wife. As Paulie says, Rocky is living in the past, and so is Stallone, especially with how the sequence goes on for a good twenty minutes. Another major problem is with the champ himself: Antonio Tarver as Mason âThe Lineâ Dixon gives without a doubt the worst performance ever from a Rocky opponent (he makes Tommy Morrison look like Olivier), even as his character is developed by giving him what should be an emotional reconciliation with his old trainer, but Tarverâs acting is so atrocious that the scene falls totally flat. The living in the past dynamic continues with Stallone insisting on bringing back minor characters from the earlier films, including Marie, Spider Rico, and even fucking Leroy Neiman (I was wondering when Union Kane would show up). The high points of the film ironically, was when the old formula would kick in, including the old standby âGonna Fly Nowâ during the (rushed) training scenes, making it briefly feel like a Rocky film again. Most of the actors come off badly besides Tarver: Burt Youngâs Paulie and his grouchy attitude would make for some amusing moments all those years ago, but now the schtick has gotten old; Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky Jr. doesnât make any connection to his characterâs dad whatsoever, making me wonder why Sage didnât just come back, and the big scene where he confronts the old man about living in his shadow was so overplayed by him that I was laughing my ass off; Tony Burtonâs Duke, always underrated in this series, is wasted here, save for one good monologue before the training, and is just dropped into the story with no sense of the characterâs legacy in the franchise; Mike Tyson contributes an incoherent and unnecessary cameo; and only Geraldine Hughes as Marie manages to acquit herself well, even if Stallone gets carried away with portraying their platonic friendship. As for the final fight, it was a nice thing seeing a Rocky fight look like a real pay-per-view bout, complete with the smarmy Larry Merchant and a Michael Buffer intro, but then Stallone goes into artsy-fartsy mode with the actual match, using black and white photography and quick flashes of Mick and Adrian (surprised he didnât just throw in Clubber and Drago) and much of the impact is lost. Overall, this could have been a good movie, if Sly hadnât shit the bed insteadâŚ
4/10